The breakup of a love relationship is considered a highly distressing event and a risk factor for the development of various emotional issues. The level of difficulties that arise as a nonadaptive response to stress varies among individuals and relationships in a predictable and systematic way. However, reactions to a breakup are not always negative, individuals may also experience personal growth as a consequence of the mental struggle with the distressing situation they have faced. A review of the literature reveals a lack of interest among authors in the positive changes that a breakup can bring. Therefore, this study aimed to identify more closely the processes that significantly contribute not only to the expected distress following a breakup but also to the personal growth of individuals. Today, social media plays a progressively important role in romantic relationships, and the construct of online surveillance of an ex partner is gaining popularity and may significantly interfere with the adjustment to the breakup. The recovery process can be significantly disrupted by preoccupation with a past relationship, which involves repeatedly thinking about a former partner and constant fixation on the emotions related to that specific relationship. Hence, the general aim of this research was to examine the relationship between online surveillance of an ex partner, relationship preoccupation, and certain characteristics of a love relationship with the breakup distress and personal growth following a breakup. Additionally, the factor structures and internal consistency type reliability of the adapted Internet Surveillance Scale (ISS, Tokunaga, 2011) and the Relationship Preoccupation Scale (RPS, Davis et al., 2003) were analysed. The study included 257 adult participants who had experienced a breakup within the last three years. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included general questions about them and their past relationship, along with the previously mentioned measures of online surveillance and relationship preoccupation, they also filled Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) and the Breakup Distress Scale (BDS, Field et al., 2010). It was found that relationship preoccupation is the only significant positive predictor of breakup distress, while gender is significant predictor of personal growth after a breakup, with a greater experience of personal growth reported by women than men. It was also found that individuals who were left by their partners typically experience more distress after the breakup compared to those who initiated breakup themselves or agreed on it mutually. On the other hand, individuals who initiated the breakup themselves and those who made the decision to end the relationship mutually, do not differ significantly in their experience of difficulties following the breakup. Additionally, participants do not significantly differ in the online surveillance of their ex partner depending on who initiated the breakup. The results of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the recovery and growth process after a breakup and encourage further studies of the construct of online surveillance in the Croatian population.